Milan prosecutors ask for the senator to be sent to trial, along with 14 other people and one company, on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy, false accounting and aggravated fraud against the state.
Prosecutors allege dividends of over 4.1 million euro in 2015 at Ki Group Holding and compensation of over 2.1 million euro for Bioera directors between 2018 and 2023.
Prosecutors allege that 3.3 million euro obtained in 2021 under pandemic support measures was secured without meeting legal requirements.
Milan prosecutors have asked for Daniela Santanchè, a senator for Brothers of Italy (FdI) and former tourism minister, to be sent to trial. The request also covers 14 other people and one company. The alleged offences are fraudulent bankruptcy, false accounting and aggravated fraud against the state, all linked to the collapse of Ki Group, Ki Group Holding, Bioera and Umbria srl. Prosecutors Luigi Luzi and Guido Schininà filed the request together with deputy chief prosecutor Roberto Pellicano. The case rests on investigations by the economic and financial police unit of the Guardia di Finanza, which were closed in mid-July, and a judge at the preliminary hearing (gup) will now decide whether the case goes to trial.
The request also concerns her son, her former partner and her sister. Compared with the closure of the investigation in July, one position has been split off from the case, with a request for dismissal. Santanchè had held positions in the Bioera-Ki Group, whose parent company went bankrupt at the end of 2024. The bankruptcies are the core of the proceedings, and the charges relate to the companies named in the request. Her separate troubles in Milan include an existing trial over alleged false accounting at Visibilia, which is already under way.
Prosecutors say that Ki Group Holding was already in financial difficulty when its directors paid themselves dividends of over 4.1 million euro in 2015, even though the consolidated accounts showed a loss. They also allege fictitious capital gains of almost 12 million euro and the irregular use of one of two bank loans, totalling 2.4 million euro, obtained in 2020. At Bioera, where Santanchè was president from 2012 to 2022, directors allegedly received compensation of over 2.1 million euro between 2018 and 2023, which prosecutors consider out of proportion to the company's finances. The accused also allegedly hid the loss of the entire share capital, which occurred in 2019.
One of the allegations concerns Invitalia, which in 2021 allegedly granted a loan of 2.7 million euro and a tax credit of 600,000 euro under business support measures introduced during the pandemic. Prosecutors say the funds were obtained without meeting the requirements set by law, and the reports describe the total at 3.3 million euro. The alleged fraud is therefore presented as deceiving Invitalia to obtain support that the companies were not entitled to.
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Santanchè has rejected the accusations. Her lawyers said in July that she had acted correctly. The preliminary hearing judge will assess the prosecutors' request and decide whether the case proceeds to trial. The outcome of that decision is not yet known.
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Prosecutors also ask for 14 other people and one company to be tried, on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy, false accounting and aggravated fraud against the state.
AI text based on reports by Open, Tgcom24, Il Fatto Quotidiano and other publishers. Published .